Paparazzi at Diana crash site acquitted

Three photographers who took pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion Dodi Fayed before and after their fatal car crash in Paris were yesterday acquitted of breaching French privacy laws.

After France's refusal put the three paparazzi on trial for manslaughter, and Britain's rejection of an official inquiry into Diana's death, the verdict brings to an end the last court case linked to the accident on August 31 1997.

Christian Martinez of the Angeli photographic agency and Fabrice Chassery, a freelance, took pictures of the couple as they lay in the wrecked Mercedes. Jacques Langevin, who at the time worked for the Sygma agency, took shots of them shortly before the crash as they left the Paris Ritz, owned by Dodi's multi-millionaire father Mohamed.

None of these pictures was ever published, but Mr Al Fayed persuaded a prosecutor to pursue the case under a precedent in France's strict privacy laws which established that the inside of a car is a private place even when on a public road. The photographers risked up to a year in prison and a €45,000 (£31,000) fine.

But the court ruled that a crashed vehicle on a public road was not a private area. It also said Diana and Dodi knew they would be photographed when leaving the Ritz. "The couple were not unaware that they were exposing themselves to being photographed when leaving the hotel," the verdict read.

Mr Al Fayed, who had sought symbolic damages of one euro, was not present in court. But his lawyer, Bernard Dartevelle, said he would appeal.

"He is extremely saddened," Mr Dartevelle said. "For him, it is unfortunately the logical consequence of what has happened in this affair since the start, namely, that France wants no part of it."

The decision will be seen by some as a victory for the freedom of France's press. "In a context like this one, which is highly charged both emotionally and in terms of media coverage, this is a decision that will be seen as brave and above all, taken in freedom," Mr Langevin's lawyer said.